VG247

Lionhead’s creative director Gary Carr believes Microsoft’s policy changes with Xbox One prove it’s listening to the consumer.

Speaking with OXM, Carr said he believes the changes provide evidence the company cares about its core audience.

“A lot of people sometimes think that Microsoft is too far removed from what people are saying and what people want, but I don’t think that’s actually true,” he said. “The fact that Microsoft turned round and changed its Xbox One online policy within a week – is that a bad thing? I think that’s a great thing. I think it is listening.

“It turned around and admitted ‘we got some things wrong, we’ve heard you and we’ve changed our policy on that’.”

Carr, like Microsoft, believes the future is a digital-only space but also feels it wasn’t wise to force the switch so soon on the consumer.

“I think it’s obviously reaching for the future, and that’s what Apple and all these guys want to do, but you can’t always be sure when people are ready for change, or whether it’s the right change,” he said.

“I think the fact that Microsoft turned around and changed what it showed at E3 shows that the team are not as aloof and removed as their reputation suggests.”

Xbox One is slated for release sometime in Novemeber.

http://www.vg247.com/2013/08/29/lionhead-xbox-one-policy-changes-prove-microsoft-isnt-as-aloof-and-removed-as-reputation-suggests/

The fact that xbone needed a policy change proves that microsoft is aloof and removed.

How can you work on a console for years and not think once "Hey, there may be some people with crappy connections" or "Hey, maybe some people would not like having a camera in their living room" and finally "Aren't there still people buying retail ?".

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I'm actually really impressed that they pulled the initial 180. With huge companies like this it is very common for everyone to just go with the flow, even if they think things suck. The DRM could have stayed half a year on the market if people didn't have the balls to cut it. After that though, they are in flip flop mode and it doesn't take much to pull a bunch more 180s.

This I think MS and some of these PR folks think we are all idiots.

You think the heads at Nintendo said we should stay with the normal people use controllers? 

While I wont ever buy a MS console I wish they had kept their policy in place. I think if Sony had introduced the same policy a lot of people that complained would have hailed it as the greatest thing ever. I remember when Live was a waste and charging to access online was anti consumer. Now Sony has both and nobody complains.
They certainly didn't increase their sales with this reversal as many people wouldn't have bought it no matter what policy it had, they just saw a chance to attack and jumped on the bandwagon..

People constantly on the internet complained about being required to let it access the internet once a day... That complaint really has no merit.
People complained about not needing to swap discs out. So switching between discs kept them from supporting MS 360 cause it was such a hassle to swap discs while playing but not needing a disc to play is also a hassle? Another complaint with no merit.
Added options for reselling games? Again people complained.
DRM? Consoles are themselves a form of DRM, not like I can take my PS game and play it in a 360.
You wont find a person who hates MS more than me. I blame them for the PC market of today because of their dirty business tactics in the 80s and 90s but I don't judge them for things that are complete BS. As a PC gamer I see the benefits of what they wanted to do. Its just sad so many console gamers with a bias had to attack something simply because it wasn't introduced by their company, then again it happened with the Wii controller, touchscreens, the Gamepad. All were hated til one company did them and then it was true next gen

It's rare to see someone that hates MS spout this much truth about the situation.    You give me hope ...

Nintendo heads tought "How could we improve gaming, so that people would throw money at us ?"

M$ heads tought "How could we make more money ?"

Of course, any company needs money. But it's not the right way to go.

Not a hater of any of the companies myself, but most of what you said has some merit.  Fanboy goggles for most people are hard to take off.